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The Book Report: Washington Post critic Ron Charles (February 18)

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By Washington Post book critic Ron Charles

Snow and ice kept me trapped inside for weeks last month, but I didn’t mind, because I had great new books to read, like these:


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Random House


Forty years ago, a demonstration took place outside the Libyan Embassy in London. As students shouted protests against Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, suddenly, from the embassy’s windows, shots were fired into the crowd. A British police officer was killed, and 10 demonstrators were wounded.

In his quietly powerful new novel, “My Friends” (Random House), Pulitzer Prize-winner Hisham Matar imagines the life of one of those wounded students: a young Libyan man who finds himself permanently separated from his family and exiled from his country.

Read an excerpt: “My Friends” by Hisham Matar

“My Friends” by Hisham Matar (Random House), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org

Hisham Matar on Twitter/X


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Ecco/HarperCollins


As winter grinds on, “True North” by Andrew J. Graff (Ecco/HarperCollins) sounds like a warmhearted vacation. It’s a family drama about a schoolteacher who suspects he’s about to lose his job, his wife and his family.

To save his finances and his marriage, he concocts an unlikely scheme to buy a run-down rafting company in Wisconsin. Everything that could go wrong does – and then there’s a cataclysmic flood.

But this is a sweet novel that never loses hope in the power of love and family.

Read an excerpt: “True North” by Andrew J. Graff

“True North” by Andrew J. Graff (Ecco/HarperCollins), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org

andrewjgraff.com


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G.P. Putnam’s Sons


Kiley Reid, author of the 2019 bestseller “Such a Fun Age,” is back with a smart, wry novel about young women at the University of Arkansas.

“Come and Get It” (G.P. Putnam’s Sons) features Millie, a hardworking African American student serving as a resident advisor in her dorm. She’s well-liked and respected.

But then, a visiting professor asks Millie to help gather data on students’ values and attitudes. That harmless-seeming agreement soon gets tangled up in all kinds of romantic and ethical complications that wreak havoc in the dorm … and beyond.

Read an excerpt: “Come and Get It” by Kiley Reid

“Come and Get It” by Kiley Reid (G.P. Putnam’s Sons) in Hardcover, Large Print Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via AmazonBarnes & Noble and Bookshop.org

kileyreid.com


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Yale University Press


John Lewis, the legendary civil rights leader, rose from desperate poverty to endure threats and beatings in the struggle for equality, and then served in the House of Representatives for more than 30 years.

Now, less than four years after his death, we have the first full-length biography of this remarkable citizen.

“John Lewis: In Search of the Beloved Community” by Raymond Arsenault (Yale University Press) tells the story of Lewis’ tireless work as a Freedom Rider, as an ally to oppressed people in every corner of America, as a defender for voting rights, and as the “conscience of Congress.”

“John Lewis: In Search of the Beloved Community” by Raymond Arsenault (Yale University Press), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via AmazonBarnes & Noble and Bookshop.org

Raymond Arsenault, University of South Florida


For more suggestions on what to read, contact your librarian or local bookseller. 

That’s it for the Book Report. I’m Ron Charles. Until next time, read on!

     
For more info: 

      
For more reading recommendations, check out these previous Book Report features from Ron Charles: 

     
Produced by Robin Sanders and Roman Feeser.





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Good enough to eat: Noah Verrier’s paintings of comfort food

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Good enough to eat: Noah Verrier’s paintings of comfort food – CBS News


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Artist Noah Verrier is getting millions of likes on social media for his paintings of comfort foods, like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, burgers, fries, and jelly donuts – and they’re selling like hotcakes on eBay. Correspondent Rita Braver talks with Verrier about how the former Florida State University art instructor came to become known as a “junk food painter.”

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A study to personalize nutrition guidance just for you

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A study to personalize nutrition guidance just for you – CBS News


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From the four food groups to the Food Pyramid, the U.S. government has long offered guidance to Americans hoping to eat a healthier diet. But there’s growing scientific consensus that when it comes to eating healthy, all of us respond to foods differently. And to prove it, the National Institutes of Health has embarked on the most ambitious nutrition study ever, hoping to finally provide Americans a personalized answer to the question: “What should I eat?” Correspondent Lee Cowan reports.

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CBS News poll finds Trump starts on positive note as most approve of transition handling

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President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration starts off with mostly good will from the public: a majority of Americans overall are either happy or at least satisfied that he won and are either excited or optimistic about what he’ll do as president. 

Trump’s handling of his presidential transition gets approval from most Americans overall and brings near-universal approval from his voters, along with a net-positive response about his selections for Cabinet posts, in particular, Sen. Marco Rubio, who is Trump’s pick to be secretary of state. 

After inflation and the economy so dominated the election, Americans are more inclined to think his administration will bring down prices for food and groceries rather than raise them, and his voters overwhelmingly say that. Going into the election, his backers expected that, too.

In a similar vein, Trump’s election already has some Republicans’ views of the economy improving.

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Overall, Republicans today are more excited about what Trump will do as president now than they were in 2016 when he was first elected.

Democrats say they feel more scared about what Trump might do than they did in 2016, and a large majority of Democrats think as president he will threaten their rights and freedoms. But at the same time, there seems to be a sense of exhaustion, as fewer than half of Democrats feel motivated to oppose Trump right now. 

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Americans, and Democrats specifically, do think the Biden administration should work with the incoming Trump administration to ensure a smooth transition, and that congressional Democrats should work with Donald Trump on issues where they find common ground.

Trump and the economy

After winning comes expectations. There’s a net optimism about the incoming administration’s effect on food and grocery prices, especially among Trump’s voters. That comes as most Americans continue to say prices are currently rising. And inflation was a big factor in Trump winning in the first place.

It may be no surprise then that among many potential items for the incoming administration, Americans say plans to lower prices ought to be the top priority. 

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The percentage of Republicans who call the U.S. economy good, while still low, has gone up, as the percentage who call it very bad has dropped. That pushes voters’ overall evaluation of the economy slightly higher than it’s been this year — and further spotlights how much partisanship, along with optimism, always plays into these evaluations.

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Trump selections of Cabinet and agency chiefs for his administration  

Trump’s current selections for agency heads and Cabinet picks get rated overwhelmingly as good choices from Trump’s voters, and are net-positive as selections among Americans who have heard enough about them to say. (Many have not heard enough yet.) 

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As a general rule, Americans want Trump to appoint people who’ll speak their minds and who have experience in the field or agency they’ll run. But in addition to those qualities, Republicans also want people who’ll be loyal to Trump.

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A large majority of Republicans and Trump voters think Elon Musk should have at least some influence in the Trump administration. Americans overall are more split on that, largely along partisan lines.

Big majorities of Americans — and a slight majority of Republicans — would like to see the Senate hold hearings on his nominations, rather than let him make those appointments without it. 

(Within self-identified Republicans, MAGA Republicans are relatively more inclined to say the Senate should skip the hearings.)

That sentiment holds whether or not people are told or reminded that the Constitution says the Senate should give advice and consent.

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As a general matter, though, most of Trump’s voters and most Republicans do want Trump to have more presidential power this term than he did in his last. That sentiment is higher among Republican voters now than during the campaign. 

Trump policies

On another economic front, Trump’s voters overwhelmingly favor the idea of tariffs: most of them don’t believe that will make prices higher. (For the third who believe tariffs will raise prices but support them anyhow, this is presumably a cost they’re willing to bear.)

For the public overall, opposition to tariffs goes hand in hand with the belief they’ll lead to higher prices.

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As was the case with voters throughout the campaign, most Americans would, in principle, approve of a new mass deportation program.

If the Trump administration does start a mass deportation program, most of the public would have it carried out by law enforcement or current immigration agencies — most would not have the U.S. military do it.

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Elections and democracy

The 2024 results have shifted Republicans’ views of U.S. democracy and also returned some confidence to their view of U.S. elections. Few Republicans suspect fraud in 2024. They overwhelmingly did about 2020.

Following Trump’s victory, there’s been an increase in the number of Republicans who say democracy and rule of law is secure, though most Americans continue to say it is not.

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Looking ahead, there’s another shift along partisan lines. Throughout the campaign, Republicans said America’s best days were in its past, while Democrats felt they were in the future. These views are reversed now. After Trump’s win, most Republicans feel America’s best days are in its future. 

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This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,232 U.S. adults interviewed between November 19-22, 2024. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to gender, age, race, and education, based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.3 points.



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